Secrets Kept and Help Forgotten
by sleeping.in.quiet
Summary: 7th year. Draco is falling behind in his N.E.W.Ts because of his guilt and part in the War. What happens when a pestering McGonagall forces a certain bushy haired Gryffindor to tutor him? Will they fight or will they find redemption in each other?
1. Oh, How Sorry I Am

**AN: Hi there! This is kinda sorta my first Dramione story. I have a coupe more chapters written, but read it first and let me know what you think?**

**Cheers! ~Bambi**

**Hermione:**

Hermione's mouth was just about to hit the floor, she couldn't do this... "But professor, isn't there ANY one else? Someone in his house perhaps? They'd get along better I'm sure!" cried Hermione. What with exams coming up in a couple months, she was never going to be able to study…..and tutor the ferret.

"Ms. Granger, I apologize, but Professor Flitwick insists that you be the one to tutor him. I've asked Madam Pince to give you a sufficient amount of space in the library so you aren't disturbed by the other students. You will begin this coming Monday. I suggest you gather your materials together and come up with a plan on how you are going to attack this task. I have great faith in you Ms. Granger. We must make sure to keep this school year as pleasant as possible. We mustn't let the students worry. I'm sure you won't disappoint me," said Professor McGonagall. "Now send in the next person, on your way out, my dear."

Hermione forced a smile at her former Transfiguration professor. McGonagall had taken over the position of Headmistress since the death of Severus Snape. Walking out the door, she wasn't all that surprised to find the cause of all her troubles.

"Okay there, Granger?" asked Malfoy who had his traditional smirk plastered across his face. "Weasley didn't have another accident did he?"

Hermione's face reddened. Two weeks previously, Hermione had caught Ron and Pansy Parkinson of all people going at in a broom cupboard. Within a day, the entire school knew of the lecture Hermione had given Ron and of course his misdeed. The two still weren't talking and it was beginning to take a toll on Harry who had found out via owl from a very angry Hermione. Draco needn't know that. "Ron and I aren't on speaking terms, not like you care. Anyways, you best be going in, McGonagall has loads to tell you," said Hermione with a smirk of her own. She left a confused looking Malfoy as she skipped to the Gryffindor Common Room, not all too happy about her predicament. But she would have to make the best of it, maybe learn something about the white faced ferret. "Pristine Fuego" she murmured to the Fat Lady who swung to let her in. Upon entering, she smiled as she saw Ginny waving at her and she went over to sit with her. Ron was currently glaring at her from his position across the room and most of Gryffindor house now hated the red head. Ginny refused to talk to him and Gred and Forge ignored the situation completely. Once the two girls started talking amicably, Hermione decided to let her best friend know. "I'm tutoring Malfoy," she said simply. "Not by choice obviously, but Flitwick wants him to get some help. I tried persuading him to find a Hufflepuff or some other Slytherin but apparently he had a specific request for me."

"Wait a second. Stop. You're tutoring Malfoy?" screeched Ginny. The chatter in the common room ceased. A couple people's heads turned, their mouths agape. Although interhouse unity was being promoted, Slytherins mingling with Gryffindors was still unheard of. Pansy and Ron had been the first but since he had cheated on Hermione, there wasn't much support from either house. Soon, the voices began rising and a couple people asked Hermione how she was going to survive. Malfoy had a reputation for trying to break into girl's knickers and this just wasn't going to sit well with the Gryffindors. They didn't want their Golden Girl torn and tattered. Everyone was a bit unsettled, but after Hermione explained that they would be closely looked over and that nothing could ever happen. The room eased into easy chatter once more until the peace was lost again, disturbed by one particular redhead. She hadn't heard from him at all recently and she had chosen to avoid him at whatever cost. He too, didn't speak but apparently this situation was way too worthy to pass up.

"I heard just now you're tutoring the Ferret. What did you have to do? Sleep with him?" asked Ron whose face was impassive. He had taken on this demeanor after he had first hooked up with Pug-faced Parkinson.

"Why should you care? It's an assignment given to me by McGonagall. Do you really think I'd enjoy this? Again, what is your business here? We aren't on speaking terms, remember," Hermione shot back grabbing her things to head along back to her dormitory. She shouldn't have to deal with this.

"You never denied not sleeping with him" mumbled Ronald under his breath but Hermione had superb hearing.

"How dare you? Do you honestly think I would have slept with him? The nerve you have AFTER breaking up with me for a Pug-Faced bitch. Don't you ever come near me again or I swear I will hex your bits off and feed them to Crookshanks."

Shaking and shoulders heaving she stomped up the stairs and threw her bag down on her bed. Was there any way to ever make amends with that child? She didn't know. But she did know that she was not a whore and she wasn't going to let Ronald Weasley get her down. She would walk with her head held high, tomorrow. If Malfoy noticed her down, he would do anything to break her in two. But for now, she would silently cry until the dawn. If she managed to pull this off she should be given an award.

* * *

><p><strong>Draco:<strong>

Tutoring! What is this madness? He didn't need it surely, least of all from a damned mudblood. He was going to kill that tufty haired wizard. It wasn't his fault that Charms was the worst subject in existence. It was the only one he wasn't neck in neck with Granger for top of the class. And now she had to tutor him? His mates were going to laugh at him for this. But that wasn't what he was most worried about. They could laugh for all he cared. It was her presence there and what it was going to do with him. She seemed so… normal at the start of this school year. As if nothing had ever happened. But that wasn't his fault. He made it that way. The problem however was, he couldn't easily forget her screams when she was writhing on the floor in his home, alone. What was worse is that the bloody war wasn't even over. The Boy Who Refused to Die was out there somewhere without his best friends, probably searching for some unknown object that still wasn't going to save them. He still had no idea what she had been doing there anyways:

_Chilling. A sense of fear had been brought over him as he saw that bastard of a werewolf bring her in. Is that her? Without the other two? What was she doing? Did she know how dangerous it was to be walking outside right now? He felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of ice on him, despite the fact that the summer heat was in full swing. Watched as they brought the girl in, a triumphant look set upon her face. They were going to defile her in any way possible; she was never going to make it out of here alive and well. He had seen what they had done to captives. They had faces yes, but none he recognized. Sympathy must not be felt for the ones who taint our world with their blood._

_"A mudblood! Potter's mudblood no less! Come to tell us something dear?" screeched Bellatrix. Come to join the Death Eaters have you? I'm sorry; we don't accept mudbloods who deserve to be on the floor scrubbing our feet. Now what do you have to tell us. There must be a reason you're here._

_"We found her in the woods, Miss. She was bathing in a lake you see, but she wasn't alone. We found one of her Muggle friends in a tent, but we disposed of that one we did. Never saw it coming. Was quite a shock to the mudblood here when she went back."_

_"Camping were you? Are you not aware that the Dark Lord is on the rise? Silly mudblood. You wanted to get caught. Crucio!"_

_Draco watched as Hermione crumpled to the ground and her wand dropped to the floor. She was pressing her lips together in an effort not to scream._

_"Did you think a bath would save you from the mud that taints your blood?" cackled Bella as she pressed on with the dreaded curse. "Spill something about the boy and maybe I'll let you walk out with your life." She released the curse to allow the girl to speak._

_"Never," bit out Hermione whose tears were running down her face. Draco assumed that it was both from the pain her body had sustained, and the loss of her friend._

_"Then we'll just have to kill you, wont we Draco?" His aunt handed him a knife. "Come now, let's shatter her. Carve it into her arm, my dear nephew. Show her how lowly she is. DO IT."_

_Draco came to terms with what his aunt wanted him to do. He had seen it done on other prisoners and had decided he'd rather Avada himself then have to perform it on another. Kill himself. He loved life too much. No matter how awful and sick it was. Gripping the knife in his hand, he grabbed Granger's arm and slowly carved a perfectly script M, followed by a U and so forth. Her eyes, gazed at him the entire time, they weren't entirely angry but they held a sense of pity. Toward herself, or to him, he didn't know but it made him uncomfortable. He watched as her blood seeped through the wound, it wasn't dirty, no. But a beautiful crimson red. When he finished, Malfoy had the urge to cleanse those wounds and put her on her way. But that wasn't possible. Not this time. Not ever._

_"Such wonderful writing, Draco," cooed his aunt. "And with a knife no less. Maybe she'll bleed out. Should we guarantee she doesn't wake up? I'd let you do the honors; the Dark Lord would be proud, so proud. It would kill Potter."_

_"No. Not that. Hit her with the Cruciatus a couple more times then I'll take her outside and leave her with the garbage, where she belongs," said Malfoy indifferently although that was the last thing he planned on doing._

_"Excellent idea, my dear child." Bellatrix raised her wand and with a loud bang, Hermione was writhing on the floor once more, this time, her screams were inhibited. They rang through the halls of the Manor and they pierced Draco's ears. There was no way he was going to be able to take any more of this. It would kill him and the little bit of soul he had left. After what seemed like hours, Draco said gruffly, "That's enough Bella. She's had enough. Give her some sort of restless peace. I can dump her outside now."_

_"As you wish, Draco," said Bellatrix who now was playing with her unruly mane of hair, as if bored. Picking up Granger as gingerly as he could, he walked slowly out of the Manor and out of sight. Conjuring a blanket he called his owl and wrote a quick note._

'_Get her out of here as fast as you possibly can and feed her some story of why she has the mark on her arm. I've wiped her memories of tonight. I'll tell you what happened when I see you next._

_~DM_

"_I better do this correctly or she'll be fucked up forever. This is for your own good. Obliviate," he whispered, wrapping her up in a blanket and partially healing her wounds. "They'll come for you. You'll be alright again._

Coming out of his reverie, he realized that spending seven days a week with Granger in a small vicinity was not going to help him. Neither was the memory. Most people would just tell him to sleep it off, but in his dreams, it was more vivid. The pain he felt, more excruciating. The rest of this year was going to kill him.


	2. All the Pretty Little Ponies Wait,What?

_A.N_

**_Hi again! New chapter up quickly since it's been written already. Oh and of course, I could never ever claim the wonderful world of Harry Potter. EVER. It has and always will belong to the lovely J.K Rowling Reviews would be….lovely. Also, I do not have a beta. If anyone is willing to offer, that would be brilliant. Otherwise, there may be some spelling mistakes or grammar disagreements. Okay enough now. ONWARDS!_**

_**Hermione:**_

Waking up in the morning with puffy red eyes was not a great way to start the day. Walking into the restroom, she showered quickly making sure to scrub away at her eyes. Ignoring the scar on her arm as she did every morning, she dressed quickly and dried and straightened her hair with a flick of her wrist, ordering her hair to fall in soft ringlets to frame her face. Clutching her books to her chest she made her way downstairs to the Great Hall for breakfast with Ginny. The two had become closer after Hermione's scuffle with Ron along with Harry's departing. She smiled as she arrived downstairs. She was preparing for her Double Charms class with the Slytherins and her Potions class with the Ravenclaws. It wasn't that bad of a schedule, except that she'd bet Flitwick was going to pair her up with Malfoy. Poor Neville was not going to pass that class. Her books were laid out over the table as she munched on a piece of toast. She would have to ask Flitwick to give her a lesson plan. She had already read the material and had a basic understanding of how to perform the spells listed later on so she figured teaching wouldn't be too much of a problem. Soon, all the students began filing out of the Great Hall and scattered themselves among the hallways towards their classes. Hermione was barely packing her things when the last student fled the Hall. Stuffing her things in her bag she fled and made it to her class just as Flitwick began speaking.

"Pick up your belongings; I'm afraid I had to make a seating chart. Some of your grades are suffering and I've paired you up with who I think may be suitable to your needs."

Neville looked up cheerfully at Hermione and she tried to return a smile but she knew that wasn't going to be the case. She glanced back at Draco who had a look of indifference while little Astoria Greengrass was clutching onto his arm chattering about some nonsense ball that her parents were planning on throwing. She shouldn't even be in the class but she was smart, if only intellectually. She didn't have one slab of common sense in her bones.

"Now then," proclaimed Flitwick, "Tracey Davis and Neville Longbottom, take those two seats in the far corner. Lavendar Brown and Miss Patil please, in front of them. Theodore Nott and Fay Dunbar, next row over next to Miss Davis and Mr. Longbottom, please. Blaise Zabini and Natalie Fairborne, in front of them. Let's see, who do I have left? Parkinson and Mr. Weasley, next to Mr. Nott and Miss. Dunbar. Julie Parkes and Jason Swann, in front of them if you will. Lastly, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger, will you please seat yourselves next to Mr. Weasley and Miss Parkinson?"

The students shuffled around but there was a quiet murmuring around the arrangement between Hermione and Malfoy and how they were going to fair next to Ron and Pansy. As soon as they were all settled, Pansy shot over a note to Hermione which read:

'I heard you're shagging my ex. Did he actually take you to bed? What did you do, promise to be his mistress as long as he didn't call you a mudblood? Fat chance. Have fun being my sloppy seconds. You deserve it.'

Hermione didn't understand where the idea of her having sex with Malfoy was coming from but she assumed it was from Ron. She didn't care, not really. All she needed to do was to appear indifferent and then the mood would pass right? That's what her mother told her anyways. She neatly folded up the paper and placed it into her bag and looked back up at Professor Flitwick.

"Well then! Let's get started shall we? Last class we were working on Memory Charms weren't we? If you did your reading last night for homework you would have learned that they are somewhat like Legiliemency except that the memory chooses the invader. You must be cautious while proceeding as if you try to plant another memory, you may just hurt the person for good. Now you may be asking yourselves, what is the purpose of this charm and when will I ever use it? Magical Law requires that all of its employees practice this charm on one another. Every one holds a piece of every other employee and it's used as a sort of seal in the case of betrayal. There are no secrets within the Ministry and with good reason. Secondly, it is also used between married couples who don't want anything between them. On the day of their wedding, they have the choice whether they want to proceed with the process or not. If they choose to do so, their minds will automatically link to each other and if something major should happen to the other, they would know almost immediately. I suggest you begin introducing yourself to your new sitting partner as you will be practicing this charm on each other in a couple minutes. Now repeat after me, Illabitur Menti."

Hermione wasn't nervous about this assignment at all. Lucky for her, she had practiced the blocking spell so she knew she had an advantage over Malfoy. She still would not be able to choose the memory but she would be able to hide the worst of them.

"Now then, I assure you that no harm shall come to you when you cast this spell on your partner. None of your memories are that tainted no? Now then, you shall have the rest of the period to practice. Miss Granger, will you come here for a minute?" As she walked over she didn't think too much about it other than the fact that she was probably going to get a lesson assignment.

"Miss Hermione, I warn you in advance, although I made a comment that none of you should have very fearful memories, that Draco boy is a rare case. I'm sure you can assume what he might have been thorough. I wish you to give him leeway. This is the only class he struggles in and I dare say it may just be due to the lack of practice. Go first, and show him how the spell is to be properly performed and tonight, let him practice on you."

"Of course, Professor," responded Hermione. It wasn't going to be that easy of a task but she was sure to try. She made her way back to Malfoy and informed him of what the Professor had told her.

"Well then, Granger, invade my mind will you? I have nothing to hold back," said Malfoy with his signature smirk. "Very well, go on then."

Closing her eyes, Hermione concentrated her magic in the very center of her being. "Illabitur Menti," she whispered. Just like apparition, she felt a sort of pull behind her navel but instead it felt as if she had dove into a Pensieve_. The scenery around her changed and she was engulfed in a black bedroom. There was a four poster in the center of the room with deep emerald green sheets with a black duvet. A wooden chest lie near the corner of the room and behind it sat a very young four year old Malfoy with tears streaming down his face. He was curled over and there were blood stains on the back of his crisp white shirt. Hermione walked over and crouched beside him. The marks were in jagged lines and Hermione could tell that he had just been whipped but none of his wounds were being tended to. Her heart went out to the poor ferret boy and she realized that he must have had a rough childhood which was why he was so cruel to her and her friends. Finally a banging on the door caused Draco to raise his head. Lucius Malfoy sauntered in all of his glory a stern look upon his face. "Up boy. Do not tell be you are crying over such petty wounds. You will never be able to serve the Dark Lord when he comes back again if you cry over matters such as these. Now, up!" Hermione watched as little Draco struggled to his feet and wobbled clutching his shoulder which appeared to be damaged the worst. "Yes, Papa" he murmured._

_ The scene faded and Hermione was once again in that same room except Malfoy was a little bit older, but he was still crying. Maybe not as hard as he did when she saw him beforehand, but he still did. Again, he was curled up behind his bed but this time he seemed to be clutching a dog's collar and there was blood that had soaked through the oak floor. She could only assume the worse and refused to look further. What she didn't notice was that Lucius Malfoy was again standing over him, this time, smiling proudly over his son._

_ "See my son; he's an insignificant creature, just like those mudbloods. Look at how dirty their blood is. That is how you know. When you look at their blood. _

_ "But Papa, his blood, it wasn't..." Draco was suddenly cut off by his own father. _

_ "We aren't the same. We're better and more pure. Don't you dare say it. Now call your elf to clean up this filth." Hermione couldn't feel anything but pity for the boy. There was a reason he was so messed up in the head. He had to stab his own dog and enjoy it. He had to be whipped when he cried. Life didn't get anymore tough than that. _Finally, the scene went dark and Hermione could feel herself withdrawing herself from Malfoy's mind. She was going to try and at least be amiable towards him. As long as he didn't see anything about her family that could possibly give her family away to Voldemort, she figured she would be fine. Maybe she shouldn't assume that he was still a Death Eater as that would be evil and crude beyond reason. When she could finally see around the room again, she noticed the looks on her classmates' faces as they too, were brought out of their daze. Malfoy's eyes were as blank as a sheet of paper, and he could be passed for as dead. When Hermione finally moved, his eyes regained their cool grey color and he snapped back into reality. "What did you see," he asked.

"I think you'd prefer if I didn't tell you. It was nothing awful, I promise you. But it was different. Now, what time do you want to meet up later tonight? Should I owl you or…"

"Granger, I can honestly tell you I don't give a rat's ass about the time. Yes, just owl me. Just get me through the damn class, that's all I ask," said Malfoy sounding bored, but in reality, he was curious about what she had seen. She had a solemn look upon her face, and she was looking at him with a sense of pity. What had she seen? He decided not to dwell too much on it but he wondered if he brought it up again, would she tell him?

**Draco:**

Although he had promised himself to not think about her, he really couldn't lose that image of her face that seemed to be imbedded in his mind. He had been called on later during the day in a completely different class and he had almost yelled out "Granger". It wasn't healthy and he knew it. Either he'd have to find some other way to get some or he'd be stuck with the memory of her forever. By lunch time, he was slowly deteriorating and he had a slight daze to his look. Blaise noticed almost immediately.

"Ay, mate, what's up with your face? Whose skirt are you chasing now? Is it Fay Dunbar? I heard she's really good. If you can catch her, let me have a hit at her alright?"

"It's not Fay. Not even close," said Draco drearily, who was losing his cool. Never would he admit something like that if he was in a coherent state of mind. He almost made a snarky remark to counter it, but Blaise already had a questioning look in his eyes complete with the eyebrow raise. "Never mind, Blaise, just get out." Draco seemed to have awful luck because at that moment, a snowy white owl flew in with a single postage that no doubt came from one bushy haired child. The bird perched itself on Malfoy's shoulder and held out its well manicured talon. "You're Potter's owl aren't you? Where is he?" murmured Draco. The script on the envelope was almost medieval; it was so elegant that Malfoy believed it might have been typed on one of those Muggle instruments. Uh…computers? Yes, that was it. Either way, it was lovely although he found himself strange for admiring it. The letter itself was quite simple.

Draco,

Meet me in the Library at ten 'o' clock Pm. It'll be vacated by then. Madam Pince will make sure of it just for tonight, or any other night. You don't have to bring your book, I have mine. Just get there okay?

See you soon,

Hermione

He could tell she was trying to at least attempt to be formal but since they were both students, it was a bit strange. Grabbing another piece of parchment and a quill, he quickly scribbled out,

I have Quidditch Practice at 8:45 and it normally runs a little late. I'll try to be there as fast as possible but no guarantees. Don't get into any trouble will you?

~DM

He read it over and decided it sounded indifferent enough if not a little mean. Perfect. "Although you're Potter's owl, you're something else aren't you. Strange and different, just like him. Give this to Hermione will you?" said Draco while he was writing her name on the front of the letter. The white speckled bird took off again in what seemed like the direction of the Gryffindor towers. Forgetting about the last letter, he went off towards his next class.

Quidditch Practice, one of his favorite times of the day. The light outside was already dim and the sky was painted dark pinks and purples and almost black. It was a time, if only for a couple hours, he could forget that they were still fighting a war and that any moment Voldemort could come back with full force and make him change sides. His father was already sending him repeated messages telling him to gather a second army but Draco ignored most of the letters unless they were most necessary. His part in the small portion of the War over the summer so far, was enough to make him cringe. He knew he'd be called on again; it was only a matter of time. "Make several rounds, around the pitch, dismount give me fifty pushups, forty lunges, thirty burpies and twenty high knees. GO," he yelled. It was fun to assign tough warm-ups especially since his team this year was known for groaning, but they couldn't do it continuously or it doubled. A week ago, Harper had complained that Draco rarely did the exercise with them and the only reason he assigned such ridiculous amounts was to torture them. Bad move, Poor Harper had to run for the entire two hours. Malfoy afterwards had shown the team that he too, did the excercises but normally before they began if not double what he gave them. Harper never complained again. Once completed, Draco sent them up onto their brooms where they made a couple rounds until they actually started practicing. They were up against the Huffle Badgers this week and there really wasn't much of a threat besides little Eleanor Branstone who was said to be a riot and a real contender during the games. Building up their defense had been Draco's ultimate strategy this year as their offensive line had always been solid unless they were playing those bloody Gryffindors who required special tactics. Everyone was looking good so far, Crabbe and Goyle were pounding the bludgers and their Chasers were scoring the occasional goal against their Keeper. He had no doubts about how the game would play out and he knew that he wasn't going to let a little girl steal the snitch away from him. The only girl who had the possibility of doing that was Ginny Weasley, the fiery red head and Granger's best friend. That child was a monster in the air and Malfoy silently appreciated how hard she worked. It was going to be quite difficult to beat her and her team. Soon enough, it hit ten 'o' clock but there was still one last drill to work on that the entire team seemed to have an issue with.

"Listen to me, Tracey, Nott, and Zabini, make sure you get that quick backwards spin before shooting up and forward. It'll throw them off if they see you heading towards our own goal, they won't chase you, and they'll just think you've gone mad. It's important that you are able to pull that move off quickly and efficiently or it won't work at all. Got it? Now try again," commanded Draco. He really needed to meet up with Hermione or McGonagall would have his ass for it. But with Tracey making some sort of strange corkscrew motion and Nott and Zabini almost falling off their brooms, they were sure to have a huge problem. "Come on guys, its ten fucking p.m already, get the move down so we can all get some shut eye. Hurry up." It was almost ten forty five by the time Tracey managed to pull of the flip but Nott was a hopeless case and Draco had finally given up on him.

"Everyone down. Nice work. Nott, if you can't get that move right by Friday night, I'm sitting you out. I don't care what you have to do to get the move down, just do it. Now hit the showers everyone."

Rushing towards the locker room, Draco had made sure to come prepared with his other attire for studying with Granger. He figured it'd be casual because of course, it was only studying but he figured he should at least smell and look decently after sweating a ridiculous amount. Jumping in the shower, he quickly washed his white blonde hair with some strange shampoo that his mother had sent him right after the start of school. According to the note she left him, it worked sort of like Amortentia without the drugging and compulsion to attack someone else. His hair merely smelled like whatever enticed the other person the most along with his own personal smell. His mother said to find a pretty pureblood witch with it but Draco disregarded that last part altogether. He was curious to find out what Granger found most enticing but that was for another time.

After rinsing himself off, he toweled himself dry and pulled on a pair of Muggle jeans and a navy blue dress shirt. It wasn't too formal was it? He hoped not. Stuffing the rest of his belongings into his bag, he made his way towards the door but was stopped by Blaise.

"What happened to your grey sweatpants and t-shirt? It's almost eleven. Where the fuck could you possibly be going? Not out with some girl, it's way too late for that. First, you wouldn't tell me whose skirt you were chasing and now you look as if you were going to take someone out to an elegant dinner. When did you start trying so hard? There's no girl here who's worth it all. So spill it, kid. Who is it?" Zabini was barricading the door and although Malfoy was a towering six foot four, Blaise was six five and a lot bulkier than he was.

Zabini, move will you? I promise you I'll tell you everything once I get back, it's nothing special but I'll tell you. Now shove off and get the hell out of my way," said Malfoy who was already slightly irritable. It would be about eleven ten by the time he reached the library and with Zabini being a complete arse, there was no way he'd ever make it.

"Fine, but you better swear on it. This chick has to be special. Now run along and shag her senseless my friend, "said Zabini with the traditional Slytherin smirk. "Save some of that ass for me, will you?"

"Shut the hell up, Zabini," said Draco with a smile while slapping Blaise on the back of the head. "Get out."

"Whatever you say, mate"

Walking back out into the corridor, Draco made a run towards the library, Granger was going to be so ridiculously ticked off, and he knew he was going to get some sort of lecture from her. As he reached the entrance, he noticed that it was particularly dark in there, save for a dim light that seemed to be coming from the back of the room. Rushing forward, he almost tripped on a book lying on the floor. Muttering about how things should be kept in their place, he looked up to see a mass of golden brown curls lying on the table desk in front of him.

Draco stared at her for a long time, from what he could tell, she was dressed a lot more simply than he was in Muggle jeans and a crimson blouse. Her pale face was tinged golden with the light, and her eyelids were fluttering slightly. Was she having some sort of bad dream?

It must have been incredibly uncomfortable to sleep sitting down like that and Draco was tempted to move her to the settee that was in the back corner of the room and just leave her there until she woke up. Actually, that didn't sound like too bad of an idea. Except that he should probably wait until she woke up a little later and they'd be able to practice then. Moving around the desk, he first slowly stacked up all the different documents that lay scattered on the desk. He assumed those were the supposed lesson plans. Putting her book bag on the floor, Draco slowly backed the chair out from under the table and grasped Hermione around the waist and picked her up. She moved around a bit in his arms, her brow furrowing slightly. Carrying her bridal style, he was just about to set her down on the couch when he noticed that her tiny fist was clutching a piece of his shirt.

"Granger, you can't do that. Let go and get some rest before I wake you up again. Come on now."

Apparently his voice didn't do much to help his case as all she did was fist his shirt a bit harder. "Really? Are you going to make me sit here, I can't just give you my shirt." No response. "Fine, then" he muttered. "What a waste of my time."

Sitting himself down, he removed his arms from her person and she just lay there across his legs. Time didn't pass very quickly but Draco too was beginning to nod off until Granger made a sudden movement and curled herself into his stomach, moving her legs up into a weird sort of fetal position. Opening one eye, he noticed Granger shivering slightly. Goddammit. Now the child was cold. He really should wake her up now. This was too much and being awful at charms really didn't help his case. He still couldn't cast a simple warming charm with almost killing a person.

"Go ahead Granger, steal my body heat and my sanity and my mind, and everything else that belongs to me," he muttered again, wrapping his arms around the tiny girl. "Why are you so small," Draco wondered out loud. "Tiny hands, I've noticed so far but you definitely don't have a tiny brain. That mind of yours could kill someone. I'd bet that it could hold a stand, even against the Dark Lord" he said pulling her more tightly towards his chest, accidentally brushing his hand up against one of her breasts. Blushing slightly, like a young schoolboy, he muttered again to himself, "I highly doubt those are small though. What the hell am I doing? This is so unlike me. It's only her chest. I merely have a small, innocent looking, vulnerably girl uh…woman lying in my arms who is supposed to be tutoring me. Maybe I should sleep, close my eyes or something. What was that song my mother sung to me when I was little? All the pretty little ponies. I think that was it. How girlish. Oh well how did it go again?" Draco was losing himself. He hated this girl and he knew it. None of this would ever be mentioned to anyone. Disregarding this the strangest thing happened, Draco began to sing

"_**Hush a bye**_

_**Don't you cry**_

_**Go to sleep my little baby**_

_**When you wake**_

_**You shall have**_

_**All the pretty little ponies"**_

Slowly but surely, Draco's eyes began to droop with the repetitiveness of his own voice. His arms tightened around the sleeping Hermione, and soon he too, was fast asleep.


	3. Practical Memories

**A/N: It's been a while since my last update. Buuut I am working on this story and hope that I will be able to plow through to the finish. Forgot to mention that I do not have a beta so sadly there will be mistakes somewhere in here and if you could so kindly point them out, that'd be great. As a heads up, I am working on a separate Dramione story so keep your heads up for that. And as always, none of this belongs to me save for the plot. Everything else goes to the lovely J.K Rowling. Oh, and review too! I'd love to hear what you guys think.**

**~Bambi**

**Hermione:**

It wasn't morning, per say when she awoke. More like, extremely early on a Tuesday. The candlelight had given out and she noticed immediately a pair of large hands were resting on her lower back. Wait a second, that wasn't right. If she was in her bedroom, no one could possibly be touching her. Unless she wasn't there. Cracking open an eye, she stared straight into a button up navy blue shirt. Dreaming? She hoped so. Raising her head, and then her body, she promptly got herself up and noticed a pair of long jean clad legs in a sitting position right where she had been laying down. Oh sweet dear Circe, where the hell was she? Library. That was it, she had fallen asleep and Draco had taken her to the couch to sleep. It was a strange gesture and so unlike Malfoy but she decided she liked that side of him better. She moved over toward his sleeping person and gently lay his head down on her lap. It must not have been very comfortable sleeping the way that he had and she figured that he might as well get an hour or two of good sleep although she figured that her lap was not very comfortable but it would have to do. She watched as Malfoy slowly adjusted himself to the new position and his hands curled under his head. He looked almost cute with his bangs falling over his eyes like a little child. Smiling to herself, Hermione knew that what she was doing wasn't normal at all. There would be consequences for her actions and the sudden turn of events startled her. Just this past Friday she had been whining to Professor McGonagall and now she felt slightly warm whenever Draco was around. It was strange. Very strange indeed.

~x~~x

"Granger…what the bloody hell is going on," asked Malfoy. She had fallen asleep again and apparently Draco was not a pleasant person to be around in the mornings.

"You tell me. The last thing I remember is putting my stuff down and laying my head on the table while waiting for you. Then this morning, my head is in your lap. Care to explain?" She did not enjoy his snarky mood. Had he been drugged the night before or what happened?

"You….were asleep…on a table," replied Draco in the most ineloquent statement she had ever heard from him.

"Yes, I just stated that. So how did I end up on the couch with my head in your lap?"

A knowing smirk took form on his angelic face. "Do you really want to know, Granger?" His cool demeanor was back and all Hermione could do was stare at him. "You grabbed a hold of my shirt with your tiny hands and would not go for the life of you. Happy?"

Hermione's mouth twitched. "Not at all. Either way, be back here tonight. We got absolutely nothing done due to your late arrival. And lose the snarky attitude will you? Now let's get going before we're found out." Hermione began heading back toward the table where she figured her stuff was still widely spread out but found it to be in a neat stack on the table.

"Scared to be found out are you? Afraid someone will think you got yourself in a tousle? Your hair could say that for you, you know?" Draco got up from his place on the couch and stood behind her, locking his arms around her waist. "A tousle doesn't seem to bad does it?"

Breaking his grip, she spun around and swiftly slapped him across the cheek. "What has gotten into you? We're strictly teacher and student and besides, you don't even like Mudbloods so keep your bloody hands to yourself." Gathering the stack of papers and books she stuffed them in her bag and sauntered away and out of the library before he could come up with any response. What a complete git! But as she was leaving she got a quick whiff of something oddly peculiar. Books, apples, buttery toast with a hint of a musky vanilla invaded her nose. Hermione Granger was definitely losing her mind.

~Xx~Xx`

Upon arriving back to her dorm room, she was eternally grateful that her roommates were still asleep. Jumping into bed, she shut her eyes, hoping to get a decent thirty more minutes of sleep. It didn't come easily though as her thoughts were jumbled. But they all centered on one particular grey-eyed ferret. He was different, surely, and he had a conflicted past which was probably the cause of his differentiating personalities. On one side, he had been taught to be menacing snarky and rude, if only to cover up his childish behavior. On the opposite end, Hermione saw a caring, passionate person who didn't come through very often but who had been hurt and harmed deliberately by his father in order to break him in two. She wanted to get to know both sides of him and if anything, forgive him for all the awful things he had done to her and his contributions to the first part of the War but the only way that was going to happen was if he felt sorry for them. Yeah, that definitely was not going to happen. She'd just have to figure out some other way to break him down. There must be one.

xX~xx~Xx

Hermione made her way down to the Great Hall with whispers surrounding her person. Some were obnoxious and others were just plain old rude.

"I heard she shagged Draco Malfoy on the couch in the Library last night. She was supposedly tutoring him. What rubbish!" exclaimed some sixth-year Slytherin

"THE DRACO MALFOY? Are you kidding me? There's no way. She's merely a Mudblood with brains. He wouldn't lower himself that far," replied her friend casually. Tossing her hair over her shoulder she glanced over at Hermione who had a look of disbelief plastered on her face. She sauntered over to her table with her head held high; ignoring the pointed looks she was being given.

"What the bloody hell is going on 'Mione?" asked a skeptical Ginny. She had been quite watchful of Hermione over these past few days. "Do you hear what people are saying? Do you know how ridiculous it sounds?"

Hermione glanced at the younger girl. "Absolutely nothing is going on. They're riled up over nothing. What happens between Mr. Malfoy and I is strictly business. You of all people should know that."

"Whatever you say. Just don't get yourself into shit will you?"

Hermione looked slightly appalled. "What gives, Ginny? I'm not doing anything wrong and I won't have you presuming something based off of something as meager as a rumor. But thanks for your input." Grabbing a bagel and a green apple, she made her way out of the Great Hall a lot earlier than expected. Heading towards the library, a few girls were talking amicably, but as she walked by, their eyes glazed and they gave her a hard stare. No matter, she really didn't care. She would get her work done and she wouldn't let her fellow classmates get her down. Heading toward her back spot, she watched as students fled from their seats, and hid behind corners. Apparently they thought that she was going to bang Malfoy while they were there. Yeah, nice try. Setting her books down, she opened her Charms book. Although she didn't have the class again today, she did have to check that her lesson plan was sound. They would still be working on the memories but he would have to invade her own. There wasn't anything embarrassing except maybe her time with Ronald. That might become a bit awkward but she doubted that he'd get such a memory like that. Her lesson was as follows:

-Explain the process of memory invasion and the background behind the founding of it.

-Explain the practical use of memory invasion

1. As we said in class, Aurors use it all the time repeatedly in order to extract information.

2. Mention the marriage ceremony and the cautions behind that decision

3. Show the flicking motion correctly.

4. Explain the state of mind

a. Relate it to Occulumency

5. Allow him to practice until he gets at least a decent grasp of the method.

Sidenote: Ask about the rumors.

It was a pretty simple lesson plan and she had Owl'd Flitwick the lesson and he had responded over enthusiastically. She didn't have too long before the next bell rang so she quickly gathered her things hoping for a better day.

X~xx~

Said day did not go too well. During Arithmancy, she was constantly picked on and several times she was so distracted and preoccupied with the lesson that she forgot the answers to several of the questions and several of the Hufflepuffs snickered. During Double Potions, Neville decided to accidentally pour the wrong thing into her potion thereby messing hers up and earning her the bad grade. She made it her mission to never pair up with him again. Now, it was nine thirty and she had finished her homework, had changed into more comfortable clothing and was now waiting patiently in the library. For the next half hour, she decided to read up on different subjects. Wandlore, magical creatures, and especially magical medicine. That's exactly how Draco found her when he came in dressed in a Muggle dress shirt jeans and a cardigan.

**Draco:**

Reading. That's exactly what he found her doing. Curled up on the back sofa, her hair was falling down onto the pages of the book and she looked peaceful. He had heard the rumors earlier that day and a couple guys from different houses had confronted him about it. Michael Corner was particularly curious,

"So, I heard you shagged Granger last night in the library of all places. How is she? I always thought she was Miss Iron Knickers."

"Michael, we didn't shag. Where the bloody hell did you hear that from?"

"Lavendar Brown," he said with a shrug.

Malfoy's blank expression spoke all of his annoyance. "Lavendar Brown of all people and you believe her? I wouldn't shag Granger. You know that." _'You're lying to yourself'_

Michael had smiled wildly, provoking Malfoy was always fun. "Are you sure about that? Because apparently you haven't heard half of the boys over the age of fourteen. They all want to shag her. She turned out well even after the First War."

Malfoy scowled, looking down. Of course she had turned out well. She was downright gorgeous now and none of the boys failed to see that. He would just have to get to her first that's all, if it was possible. He always had to put up the same front. That he resented her. But in reality all he wanted was forgiveness for something that she would never remember. "Either way she's still a Mudblood. She may be a pretty mudblood, but she's one nonetheless."

Michael had raised his eyebrow, "Are you mental? Even in this war, we're trying to get over our prejudices and you're still going on about impurity? Damn Malfoy, grow the hell up. I always thought she had a quiet thing for you but you're obviously not interested. You're right. Believing Lavendar was stupid on my part, but I think I'll go redeem myself and talk to Granger. You don't want her, but I do. Good luck, Malfoy.

Draco looked down the corridor as Michael walked away. It was shit like this that always caused him trouble. Now, not only was that rumor going around, but Michael was bound to make up some story about him forcing himself on her. Brilliant. He walked up to her quietly and sat down next to her on the couch. She did not stir and merely kept on reading. Smiling, he whispered, "Hey Granger, care to get your nose out of that book now? Don't we have work to do?"

Her eyes widened and she almost jumped and fell off the couch and Draco had half the mind to catch her. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't even notice when you arrived!" He watched as she got up and smoothed out her skirt and headed over to the table that contained all of her things. "You didn't have to scare me!"

Again, Draco smiled; he had half the mind to tell her she looked pretty and to just forgo the entire ordeal of studying. Take her up to his room maybe? Yeah right, like she'd ever do that. Michael was definitely lying when he said she had feelings for him. She was too golden and perfect. It just wasn't possible."I wasn't doing anything. You jumped by yourself Granger." She was too pretty

She frowned at him and gathered her stack of papers. "Well then, should we begin? We're already slightly behind schedule don't you think?"

"We have a schedule? Do you have somewhere you need to be?" he asked. He certainly hoped not.

"No, not at all. But then again, I doubt you would want to stay in my company for longer than is necessary right?" she replied simply as if it was already given.

_That's a lie, you silly girl. You're the one that keeps me up at night. _"Of course, right I guess. So what're we doing?" Draco shifted nervously on his feet. This may just be the most awkward moment of his life.

Hermione looked at him plainly. "Memory charms. Just like we did in class. I'm sure you saw how I did it? I'll show you the motion in a second and then you can practice."

"Practice? Practice on who exactly?" he asked.

Hermione put her hands on her hips and looked at him as if he were a little child. "Are you daft? I'm standing right in front of you. You'll practice on me of course!


End file.
